Arena 1 Gallery is pleased to present “KachoFugetsu: Flower Bird Wind Moon” which debuts June 13.

The exhibition, curated by LA based artist Kio Griffith (Tokyo+Yokohama Projects / ARTRA Curatorial), includes the work of more than 30 artists and mirrors Griffith’s success in taking an exhibition of Los Angeles artists to the 2014 Yokohama Triennale for its satellite programming.

See image: AKIRA SHIKIYA “Rain Drops”

The reciprocal exhibition opens a mini-festival (exhibitions organized by Griffith at Paul Loya in Culver City and at Eastside International at the Brewery will follow later in the month) and includes exciting young artists from across Japan. Active artists at various levels of their careers from recent graduates of Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) to emerging and mid-career artists in the museum and biennial circuits will present painting, drawing, print, sculpture, installation, photography, collage and new media. 



The title of the show is an idiomatic expression derived from Buddhist literature, reverberations of beauty and aesthetics in both historical and contemporary contexts of the Japanese social experience. What transpires is the intuitive sense that observes art’s place in nature: its appearance, meaning and value set in contemporary world affairs in which the un-seeable is viewed from a third eye, the inaudible is imagined through living colors, and the unspeakable can be understood through telepathic means. 



Highlights of the exhibition include Akira Shikiya’s assembled and woven commonplace objects i.e. umbrellas, playing cards, lighting sockets into spherical sculptural installations; Satoshi Saegusa’s painted sculptures which test the malleable limits of plastics and vinyl Chiaki Saito’s experiments with pulp, fabric and crystallization that reinvent craftwork in contemporary sculpture, and Kyoco Taniyama’s site specific installation which re-examines the relativity of existence and location through use of GPS map systems.

Griffith approaches his curatorial effort with the appreciation that “if every moment is a first hand experience and a unique meeting made in the spirit of ichigo-ichie, (literally “one time, one meeting”), this concept of transience could be contemplated as a singular decisive event materializing for the guest’s perusal.”

See image: SHINNOSUKE MURAKAMI “Book Tower”

Artists include:  Shisei Hashimura • Bryan Ida • Mitsuko Ikeno • Ichiro Irie • Yayoi Itami • Masaaki Iwama • Minako Kumagai • Ling Liu • Kaoru Mansour • Hiroshi Maruyama • Yumiko Matsui • Hiroko Mitsui • Nobuki Mizumoto • Jun Miyazaki • Yuichiro Ohmura • Satoshi Saegusa • Fernando Saiki • Chiaki Saito • Tomoaki Sato • Akira Shikiya • Yukiko Sugiyama • Miyoko Tanaka • Kyoco Taniyama • Kaori Tazoe • Makoto Tomioka • Devon Tsuno • Fred Vee • Takeshi Watanabe • Akihiro Yasugi

ARENA 1 is an exhibition space founded by Santa Monica Art Studios directors Yossi Govrin and Sherry Frumkin. Based in an historic hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, ARENA 1 invites internationally known as well as newly established curators to develop innovative and compelling exhibitions.

On view: June 13 – July 18

What: Opening reception
Where: ARENA 1, Santa Monica Art Studios 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, 90405
When: June 13 – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Website: http://www.arena1gallery.com